


Time Blasts (Thirty-five minutes ago)

by Lilian_Cho



Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon), Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Adventures (Comics)
Genre: AND Giant-girl too, Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avengers Mansion, Blue-eyed Tony so comics Tony, Cap_Ironman Tiny Reverse Bang, De-aged tony, Episode: s0207 The Age of Tony Stark, Everyone's happy and living at Avengers mansion so it's Marvel Adventures, Friendship/Love, Gen, Humor, I like van Dyne better though, I'm half-kidding, Inspired By, Jan is the Wasp, Kid Tony Stark, Light-Hearted, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, POV Steve Rogers, Stony Bingo 2016, Teenage Tony Stark, Tony's love for Cap is so pure, Van surnames are usually capitalized in the U.S., because writing an ambiguous fandom fic is hard, there is no groping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-08-07 09:31:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7709974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilian_Cho/pseuds/Lilian_Cho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Thirty-five minutes ago, or twenty years from now, give or take, your future self accidentally poked a hole through the fabric of time,” Hawkeye announced with what Steve thought was unnecessary relish. </p><p>Twelve-year-old Tony’s eyes rounded at this. “That is <i>so</i> sick,” he breathed out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Thirty-five minutes ago

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Long Day](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/219928) by nim-lock. 



> Also answers my Bingo square "Thirty-five minutes ago."  
> Uhh the scene inspired by this picture won't show up until chapter ~~3~~ ~~4~~ five. ~~(Sorry am I not following the spirit of this challenge?)~~ I'll write as fast as I can up to that point! Then look around for a beta ^^;;
> 
> The plot is based on/diverges from _Avengers Assemble_ 02x07: The Age of Tony Stark.  
>  This fic is Marvel Adventures with shades of AA and 616.

“Thirty-five minutes ago, or twenty years from now, give or take, your future self accidentally poked a hole through the fabric of time,” Hawkeye announced with what Steve thought was unnecessary relish. 

Twelve-year-old Tony’s eyes rounded at this. “That is _so_ sick,” he breathed out. 

Steve didn’t rub his temples, because the serum took care of his headaches within seconds. He closed his eyes against the phantom pressure anyway. In the background, he could hear the Hulk roaring at the dinosaurs stomping around the mansion ground.

  


:: _Thirty-five minutes ago, or two decades later_ ::

“If my calculations are correct—and they always are,” Iron Man said to the rest of the Avengers, “the Time Gem should re-appear right here in three, two, _one_.” 

Tony had no time to congratulate himself as the Time Gem flew straight at his arc reactor and flung him off of the quinjet. Orange sparks arced around the armor as his comm cut out.

 _The problem with Tony_ , Steve thought as he flung his shield at a dinosaur flying though the ripple in the sky, _is that he always has to be right._

He knew that Thor would catch Tony, Iron Man armor and all. And Thor did, depositing Tony on the quinjet before flying off again to face the dinosaurs. 

“Tony, can you hear me?” He flung the shield at a dinosaur flying too close to the quinjet. Nothing looked out of place with the armor; the Time Gem, if it was still there, was not visible.

“I’m taking off your faceplate.” He said a short passphrase and pressed on a latch near the helmet’s gorget.

“Avengers, reconvene at the quinjet.” He couldn’t take his eyes off of Tony’s unconscious form. “Iron Man has been compromised.”

:: :: ::

“When you said ‘compromised,’ I thought he’s been brain-swapped with a dinosaur or something, not reverse-aged into a teenybopper,” Clint said.

They milled about at the living room where Tony lay prone on the couch. Steve thought it would be less disconcerting for Tony than to wake up on a medical bed. After Doctor Blake had pronounced the young boy to be more or less healthy albeit unconscious, Thor had joined Hulk in corralling the time-displaced dinosaurs.

Next to Clint, Natasha chimed in. “It was the Time Gem, Clint. Why would it swap Tony’s brain with a dinosaur’s?”

“I don’t know.” Clint shrugged. “It’s not like we know how these ‘Infinity Gems’ work. For all we know, it's like a genie's lamp that can read your hidden dreams.”

Natasha conveyed skepticism without moving a facial muscle. “And Tony Stark’s childhood dream is to turn into a dinosaur.”

“Every kid wants to be a dinosaur! That or run away with the cir-”

“He’s waking up,” Steve said, cutting off Clint’s impassioned defense. He knelt down next to the couch. “Tony, how are you feeling?”

“Mmngh.” 

Clear blue eyes blinked open and focused on Steve’s face. The corners of his mouth ticked up into a smile. “Cap.”

Steve smiled helplessly back at his best friend. “You scared us back there, Shellhead.”

“You’re four years too late,” Tony said matter-of-factly. 

“What?”

Tony sat up on the couch and plucked up a cushion. “I asked for a Captain America-themed birthday party when I was eight. Of course, Dad couldn’t even be bothered to show up, so.”

Hugging the cushion to his chest, Tony peered at Steve and the other Avengers. “Great costume reproduction, though. Is that real chainmail? Your shield looks pretty convincing too; almost as good as the one I made when I was eight.”

At this point Clint fell over laughing. 

“Are you supposed to be one of the Invaders?” Tony turned a critical eye at Clint. “Because you got the color scheme all wrong, dude. Purple isn’t a primary color.”

Clint sat up straight, frowning. “Purple is a legitimate color choice!”

“If you’re a supervillain, maybe,” Tony said dismissively. “Everyone knows heroes wear primary colors. Like red. Red is a great color.” He grinned widely at Natasha, who raised an eyebrow.

Steve took a deep breath and told himself not to panic. Alright. His best friend doesn’t have any memories of his adult self. The Avengers have seen weirder stuff. It’s fine; they’ll get to the bottom of this. 

“Uh…am I seeing things, or is there a tiny lady with wings hovering near the window?”

“Tony!” Jan returned to normal size mid-air and tackled Tony into a hug. “You’re awake! You’re tiny! Do you remember what happened to you?”

“Um,” Tony said, blushing. “Do I know you? You look familiar, but—”

Jan stopped squeezing Tony and gave him a small, puzzled smile. “It’s me, Jan! Did you get amnesia on top of being de-aged?” 

“Jan van Dyne? You’re _hot!_ ” Tony blurted out, then promptly flushed red in mortification. Clint snorted.

Jan gave a delighted laugh. “You grow up to be very handsome yourself.” 

Tony stood up, dropping his cushion onto the rug. “Is this the future? Are you guys a real team of superheroes? I thought the curtains in this room looked different.”

“Yes, it is. _All_ of us are superheroes; including you, Tony,” Jan said, grinning. “And future-you agreed that these curtains make the room more welcoming and less gloomy.”

Tony looked dazed (doubtlessly from hearing that his future self was a superhero, not that Jan had helped redecorate).

“Here’s what happened,” Clint said, taking over. “Thirty-five minutes ago, or twenty years from now, give or take, your future self accidentally poked a hole through the fabric of time.”

“That is _so_ sick,” Tony breathed out.

:: :: ::


	2. :: :: ::

Steve wasn’t lurking around trying to eavesdrop; he was changing out of his uniform into a fresh pair of shirt and jeans. He hadn’t missed the fact that even though Tony had wholeheartedly embraced the idea of being part of a superheroes team, he was noticeably skittish around Steve. He tossed friendly insults at Clint, was polite to Natasha, and clung to Jan like a security blanket or a—a shield.

(“Huh. I’d think pint-size would be sticking to you like glue,” Clint had remarked earlier. “He’s Cap’s number one fan, after all.”)

Steve sighed. Of course he was a complete stranger to Tony, especially in comparison to Jan, who was apparently a childhood friend. He could hear Jan cheerfully catching Tony up on all their Avengers teammates all the way from her bedroom suite. They must have left the door open; superhearing is the _worst_ , sometimes.

“…and we have two members on loan from the X-men: Storm and Wolverine. Storm is awesome; you’ll love her. Wolverine acts all gruff, but he’s not fooling anyone.” 

“We have mutants on our team?” Tony sounded excited. “Does Storm control storms? Like how Thor can call for lightning? Is Wolverine a shapeshifter? Does he transform into a gigantic wolverine?”

Jan’s tinkling laughter rang through the hallway. “I think I’d let Storm and Logan answer that for themselves.”

“Not fair.” He could hear Tony’s pout in his voice. 

“Anyway,” Jan said after giggling some more, “we’ve had different members over the years, but you and Cap have always led the team. Thor and I have also been here from the beginning.” 

Tony was quiet for a while. Steve could hear the rustling of hangers and clothes.

“So did they successfully recreate the supersoldier serum? Or is the current Captain America a mutant?”

“That’s Steve Rogers.” Jan sounded surprised. 

“Yes, the government made him change his name to Steve Rogers—”

“No, I meant that’s the original Steve Rogers. Captain America, the first Avenger.”

“…you’re kidding.” 

At this point Steve could no longer tell himself that he was not eavesdropping. His shirt and jeans could not be more precisely lined up than they already were.

“How is that even possible? How is he not a hundred years old?! Is the serum an elixir for immortal life?”

Steve knocked on the open door and cleared his throat for good measure. Tony jumped from where he was sitting on the bed.

“They told me the ice put me in suspended animation. To be exact, I’m a nonagenarian. And I hope not; future-you assured me that I am aging at a normal rate.” 

Tony looked at him with blue eyes wide on his face. Steve was concerned he had stopped breathing.

“ _I’m so sorry!_ ” Tony covered his red face with his hands.

Jan looked highly entertained.

“First I thought you were a Captain America impersonator, and then I called you an impostor!”

“It’s alright—”

Tony dropped his hands in his lap. He looked pale and horrified now. “Is that the original shield?” 

“Well, yes—”

“I told Captain America his shield isn’t as good as my Halloween prop!” Tony wailed.

Steve couldn’t help chuckling. “It’s alright, Tony,” he said, dropping a warm hand on Tony’s small shoulder. “I’ve seen your childhood inventions. I’m sure you did a great job with the shield.”

“You’ve seen my _robots?_ ” Tony asked, voice squeaking at the end. “And you like them?”

Steve sat down next to him on the bed, and turned to face him. “I love them.” 

“Oh,” Tony said softly, like a child who had found a nest of baby robins, precious and fragile. There was a sheen over his blue eyes. “Nobody except Jarvis ever liked them.” Liked _me_ , he didn’t say.

Steve reached out, and pulled Tony close in a side-hug. “Well, _I_ think they’re real swell. And the team and I think you’re absolutely brilliant.”

“Yes, we do.” Jan nodded vehemently. “And very handsome and well-dressed besides.” 

Snuggled up to Steve’s side, Tony laughed and wiped his eyes. “You forgot the obscene amount of money.”

“Oh, _huge_ piles of money,” Jan agreed. “My piles of money aren’t quite as huge as yours, but they’re more attractively displayed.” She held a yellow cardigan to her chest and struck a supermodel pose.

Tony giggled. “You just want to dress me up!”

Jan bounced on her feet. “It’d be fun! Here, try these on!” She dumped an armful of colorful T-shirts and sweatshirts on their lap. 

“Ooh, a Captain America hoodie!” 

:: :: ::

“When is pint-size going to be back to regular size?” Clint asked, on a break from dinosaur wrangling.

Tony stuck his tongue out at Clint. He was wearing the Captain America hoodie with the cuffs folded over, and a pair of running shorts Jan unearthed from the depths of her walk-in wardrobe. 

“Not that I don’t love you, mini-Stark,” Clint said, “but we need our science people—that’s usually you and Doctor Banner, by the way—on the temporal hole situation. Hulk is playing dinosaur wrangler #1, so Banner’s out; and you’re currently a Belieber.”

Steve didn’t bother asking Clint what a Beeriber was. With Clint, sometimes it was better not to know. “What do you suggest, Hawkeye?”

“Other than adding more scientists to the team roster? Call McCoy if it’s science, Strange if it’s magic.” He wiggled the fingers of one hand.

Steve smiled when he saw Tony pulling an outraged face at the word ‘magic.’ 

“What about that friend of yours, Jan?” Steve asked. “The astrophysicist?” 

“Jane Foster? I can give her a call.”

“Do we want to involve civilians in Avengers business?” Clint objected.

“She’s dating Thor, and she’s been to Asgard; she’s not exactly your average civilian,” Natasha pointed out.

“If being superhero-adjacent makes someone not a civilian, then Lucky should be given an honorary Avengers status!”

“Uh, guys?” Tony said, clutching his chest.

“Are you seriously comparing your dog to Jarvis?”

“Tony!” Steve rushed forward to catch the boy as he fell over. The same orange light from earlier arced around his body before pulsating, once, near where the arc reactor would be.

When the light show was over, Steve was holding an unconscious older teenager in his arms. Incongruously, there was the sound of bomber planes overhead.

“Call Doctor Foster, yep. Call all the civilians,” Clint said.

“I already texted her when you were arguing with Natasha,” Jan said. An explosion shook the windows of the dining area.

“Yeah, me and Nat should go deal with the planes, pronto.” Hawkeye slung on his quiver of arrows and went to follow Black Widow, who had left a minute ago.

“I’ll go help Hulk and Thor,” Jan said, putting on her Giant-Girl costume. “Time to take the new costume on a test drive.”

Steve nodded, not taking his eyes off of his best friend’s still form. “Stay safe, Avenger.” 

“He’ll be fine, Cap,” Jan said kindly, her gloved hand on Steve’s shoulder. “Storm and I can relieve Banner from dinosaur-wrangling duty.”

Steve exhaled. “Thanks, Jan. He’s aging in the right direction, at any rate.”

“That’s the spirit!” Jan stepped out through the French doors, rapidly expanding in size. “Take lots of pictures for me when he wakes up!”

:: :: ::


	3. Five years later

:: _Five years later, or fifteen years ago_ :: 

Steve was sitting at Tony’s bedside, quietly worrying about what would happen when teenage Tony woke up. They were lucky that twelve-year-old Tony had recognized Jan and accepted the bizarre situation with aplomb. Somehow he didn’t think things would go that smoothly this time. Jan was off being Giant-Girl, for one. _Unless this Tony remembers what happened to his twelve-year-old self?_

Dark lashes fluttered, and Tony turned his face and hummed into the pillow. Hands curling into loose fists, he stretched against the dark blue sheets and yawned. He blinked twice and looked up at Steve. 

“Nice job, me.”

Steve blinked. “Beg your pardon?”

“I was flirting with the curvy blonde at the bar, but you’re way cuter,” Tony said, lips curving up. “What’s your name, handsome?”

“Steve—My name is Steve,” his mouth answered reflexively for him.

“Did I get drunk and hit on you, Steve-my-name-is-Steve?” Leaning up against the headboard, Tony let his eyes trail over Steve’s form appreciatively. “I would ask if you took advantage of me in my inebriated state, but you look too wholesome and earnest for that.” 

Steve had moved Tony to the bedroom thinking he would be more comfortable in his own bed, but that clearly had been a tactical error. “That’s not—”

“Ty must’ve slipped something in my drink again,” Tony continued blithely. “He thinks he’s so fucking funny.”

Steve’s protestations died in his throat.

Tony must have seen the look of alarm on his face, because he hurried on to say, “Hey, no harm, no foul. He wouldn’t have let me go home with a serial killer…probably.” He plucked at the blue and gray comforter covering his lap. 

_Your friend is a psychopath_ , Steve didn’t say. “He should not have done that to you. That’s an assault and a crime, not a prank.”

Tony shrugged, clearly uncomfortable. He stopped worrying at the blanket and smoothed the covers down.

“Well, I’m awake now and fully consenting,” Tony said, giving Steve an exaggerated leer. “Why don’t you come over here, Captain Handsome?” He patted the uncovered spot next to his hip invitingly.

“OhmygOD Stark!” Clint’s voice shrieked from the doorway. “Stop it with your face! You’re Katie-Kate’s age; you’re an infant! Stop hitting on Captain America; he’s seventy years older than you!” 

_Next time Tony gets de-aged into a teenager_ , Steve vowed, _I’ll leave him drooling into the kitchen rug._

:: :: ::

Teenage Tony was a lot harder to convince than his twelve-year-old self; not to mention a lot handsier. Steve had to remove wandering hands off of his person a few times through the explanations. Strangely, he seemed to be more skeptical about being on a team of superheroes than the whole time-slip scenario. When they showed him videos of Iron Man fighting alongside the Avengers online (Steve wasn’t going to take him down to the arsenal room and the Iron Man suits; he preferred the mansion intact and not blown up), he grudgingly accepted that they probably were not lying to him.

“The armor specs do look like something I’ve designed on and off when I was a kid,” Tony said, looking up from the paused video. The hoodie sleeves fit him perfectly now, and the blue running shorts stretched taut across his thighs. “I guess future-me finally solved the power source issue.”

He handed the StarkPad back to Steve, deliberately letting their fingers brush.

“That you did.” Steve ignored the lingering touch and set the tablet on a side table. “You’ve always been a genius, after all.”

Meanwhile, Clint was sulking and eating a sandwich as big as his head. 

“It’s not fair.” Bite, chew. “I wanted to make fun of Tony’s awkward, dorky stage.” Bite, chew, chew. “But he makes an attractive teenager! I bet Nat that it was 75% Photoshop!” 

Steve also thought it was unfair that Tony was an attractive teenager, but for completely different reasons. Thick, dark lashes ringed eyes that Steve knew so well. With his trademark facial hair gone, his cheeks look smooth and soft and his lips are pink and pillowy.

“Excuse _you_ ,” Tony said with mock affront. “Who are you calling a teenager? I’m twenty-one years old.”

Clint snorted around his sandwich. “Yeah, and I’m the Queen of England.” 

“Your Majesty,” Tony said promptly, giving a sweeping bow. “Aren’t you supposed to go superhero-ing somewhere? Rampaging dinosaurs afoot, et cetera?”

“Do you know how hard it is to shoot planes down in Manhattan while avoiding casualties and minimizing structural damage?” Clint asked. “Nat may subsist on the blood of her enemies, but I don't. I’ve earned a sandwich. I’ve earned _all_ the sandwiches.”

Clint’s next rejoinder was muffled around his last bite of sandwich. “And you only want to get rid of me so you can put the moves on Cap.”

Tony straightened up, as if acknowledging the hit. Steve should have known better than that.

“Who says I can’t put the moves on him with you right here?” He trailed a possessive hand on Steve’s bicep. Clint squawked in outrage, spraying half-chewed lunch meat all over the kitchen counter.

“O- _kay_.” Steve stepped away from Tony’s hands, putting a stop to the joke.

“Steve?” Tony reached out and snagged the back of his shirt. Eyes wide in dismay and mouth softly open, he looked at Steve like he had just pushed him away and stomped on his heart for good measure.

“Um. I can come back later?” They all turned to look at Bruce, who was holding ripped purple pants up with one hand. “I should go put on pants first anyway.” 

:: :: ::

“Every time the Time Gem changes your age, the temporal waves draw in things from other eras.” Bruce said, looking uncomfortable speaking with a teenage version of Tony. He would look in Tony’s direction, then drop his gaze and look back at the data scrolling on the holoscreen, with a general air of _‘Abort, abort!’_

“And we’re just—what?—waiting for the situation to resolve itself?” Tony remarked, with a surprising lack of sarcasm. He was standing next to Steve in the assembly room, hand holding onto the back of his shirt as if afraid Steve would leave if he let go. He expected Tony to be asking a hundred questions a minute, but even though his bright eyes were taking in all the data, he was pretty subdued otherwise.

Bruce pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “You’re currently aging up to your original age. At the absence of any reliable information on the Time Gem, Thor agreed with me that we should let things run its course.”

“How are we doing on the dinosaurs front?” Steve asked.

“Fear not, Captain.” Thor’s voice boomed from one of the screens. “Together, my fellow storm-bringer, the lady giant and I are holding them out of the cities.” 

“It’s Giant-Girl, Thor,” Jan said onscreen, grabbing an escaping dinosaur and putting it back with its fellow reptiles behind a makeshift fence of lightning. “A zoo enclosure in a pocket-universe would come in so handy right now.”

“Yeah, Tony,” Clint said. “Adult-you must have spare islands lying around somewhere, right?”

“Nothing near Manhattan, I’m afraid,” Tony said, deadpan.

On one screen to Bruce’s side, Doctor Foster shook her head in frustration. “I would advise you Avengers on how to close the temporal vortex, except the readings show that there isn’t _any_ temporal vortex. Whatever fluctuations happened timewise—”

“…must have happened during the few seconds it took Tony to change in age,” Bruce finished her sentence.

“Exactly.” 

:: :: ::

“Note to self,” Tony said, frowning at the files open on his StarkPad, “write better notes next time.” He was looking through the notes his future-self had written on the Infinity Gems. If his second change was similar to the first one, he would undergo another time slip in about twenty minutes. 

The other Avengers were staying alert for more creatures brought in by the resultant temporal waves. Steve, meanwhile, was sticking close to Tony’s side, shield at the ready.

(“Jarvis would have been ideal, of course,” Bruce had said. The butler was away on a much-deserved vacation. “But you’re the one face he had known his entire life. It’s important to keep him stable during the changes.”)

Steve had been glad for the excuse to stay. Giant-Girl was more effective than Captain America for keeping the dinosaurs in line, anyway.

“Cap?” He could feel Tony hesitating, and he smiled at him encouragingly. “We’re friends, right?”

“We are, Tony,” Steve said. “You’re my best friend since I woke up this side of the millennium.”

Tony’s answering smile was incandescent. Standing together like this, the top of his head barely reached the tip of Steve’s nose.

Standing on tiptoes, he leaned close and dropped a kiss on Steve’s cheek. “I’m glad.”

Steve flushed, but couldn’t bring himself to reprimand him.

Tony looked down on his StarkPad, a quiet, melancholic smile on his face. “I wish I can remember this future.”

“We’ll meet again in five years,” Steve said impulsively. He was probably breaking some time-warp rule, but he would have promised anything right then to erase that sad expression from Tony’s face.

Tony inhaled sharply and turned to look at him. Familiar orange lights are arcing around his arms, before congregating around his heart. _It's too early._

Steve grasped his best friend’s hands.

“In five years, then,” he said, and collapsed into Steve’s arms.

:: :: ::

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Turns out that _Marvel Adventures_ ' Avengers live in Avengers Tower instead. Whoops. I need it to be the mansion for chapter four's ~plot purposes~.  
> What comic fans felt when Bendis blew up Avengers Mansion is probably what I feel about [SPOILERS, kinda]  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> the last ST movie.


	4. Ten years ago

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you rea_saint for answering all my "Do I use this preposition or that preposition?" questions this chapter. =)

:: _Ten years ago, or two dozen years ago_ :: 

The weight in his arms abruptly lightened, and for a few terrifying seconds Steve thought that Tony had disappeared. He took a shuddering breath of relief when his panicked eyes took in the small child now engulfed in the blue and red sweatshirt. 

“So much for aging in the right direction,” Steve told the silent walls.

It took several moments to convince his arms to relinquish the precious burden. He was gripped with the fear that Tony would vanish the second he no longer held him. Only the knowledge that his best friend, who was currently a child, would be scared waking up in the arms of a stranger made him strong enough to let go.

With a heart-weary sigh, he set Tony down gently on the living room couch. From twelve-year-old Tony’s reaction earlier, this room had hardly changed since his childhood years. He spread a soft knit blanket over his thin bare legs.

Only then did he check his Avengers identicard, giving his teammates a brief update on Tony’s situation. From what he could see on the screen, the last temporal wave had brought creatures from the Pleistocene epoch. Clint, at least, was having the time of his life.

“I’m on top of a woolly mammoth, shooting at saber-tooth tigers!” Clint said, letting loose another arrow. “This is some epic Lord of the Rings shit right here!”

Natasha ignored him and slid down the mammoth’s trunk.

“Oh, come _on_ ,” Clint complained. “ _I_ wanted to do that move!”

Steve cleared his throat. It’s all and good for Clint to play Legolas, but they still had no answers to Tony’s condition.

“Right,” Clint said. “Jan said not to worry about Tony. Reinforcement is coming!” That said, he promptly fell backwards off of the mammoth’s back. Hulk must be nearby to break his fall.

“Keep up the good work, Avengers,” Steve said, turning off the holographic screen. 

He continued his silent pacing next to Tony’s supine form. This time was more nerve-wracking than the previous two, since Tony looked so small and defenseless lying on the enormous couch, and Steve no longer had the reassurance that things would resolve itself in the course of time.

“Nngh—” Tony started stirring, and Steve gripped his knees hard so that he didn’t reach out and startle him.

“Jarvis, turn off the sun,” Tony mumbled without opening his eyes. Steve couldn’t help but smile at his friend’s childish impossible demand.

“It’s late afternoon, Tony.” He pitched his voice to sound soothing. “The sun will set soon enough.”

Blue eyes opened groggily and focused on Steve’s face. “You’re not Jarvis.” 

“Unfortunately not.” Steve crouched down and tried to make himself look as open and non-threatening as possible.

Tony sat up slowly and took a survey of his surroundings. His gaze landed on the shield set against the wall, before flicking back up to Steve’s face. With a small frown, he started reciting, “Three point one four one five nine two six five three five…”

Great. Not even five minutes, and he already broke Tony.

“Tony?”

The boy recited twelve more numbers of pi before stopping. “…four six two six.” He nodded to himself, apparently satisfied.

Tony explained, “I was checking that this isn’t a dream. Numbers never line up correctly in my dreams.”

Steve shook his head fondly. Of course Tony wouldn’t do something easy and expected, like pinching himself. 

“I’m just glad you haven’t been replaced by a calculator robot, Mister,” Steve said with a grin. 

“I’m not Mister; I’m Tony,” he said in a high, clear voice.

“Hi Tony, I’m Steve.”

Huge blue eyes peered into Steve’s face. “You’re Captain Steve Rogers. Did I time-travel to the past? Dad said you visited the mansion once. How did you know my name? Can I give you a hug?”

“From your perspective, this is actually the future. I do recall meeting your father back in the forties. I know you because you’re my best friend.” Steve smiled and opened his arms wide. “And only if I can hug you right back.” 

Tony was blushing by the end of Steve’s speech, but he jumped off the couch and into Steve’s arms without hesitation. 

Squeezing Steve as hard as his slender arms would allow, Tony spoke wonderingly, “Wow, one of Dad’s Arctic expeditions actually found you. It must have been the happiest day of his life.”

“Actually, _you_ were the one who found me on the ice.”

Tony pulled back from the hug and looked confused. “Dad let me tag along on one of his expeditions?” He seemed surprised that his father would give him the time of day, let alone bring him along on an important excursion.

“It wasn’t a Stark expedition,” Steve told him. “It was an Avengers mission. We’re Avengers, a team of superheroes who defend the earth from extraordinary threats.”

Tony looked at him with shining eyes. 

“You saved me from the ice, Tony,” he told him earnestly. “Yours was the first voice I heard when I woke up. And you gave the team—you gave _me_ —a home.”

“All of us live together?” Tony asked, awe in his voice. “In a gigantic clubhouse?” 

“I have often thought of Avengers Mansion as a gigantic superheroes clubhouse.” The cultured voice floated from the doorway. “And a large, welcoming home. In this, Captain Rogers and I share the same sentiment.” 

“Jarvis!” Tony ran to the older man to give him a hug. Steve should have known Jarvis was the reinforcement Jan meant. 

“Master Tony, it does my heart good to see you.” Jarvis bent down to hug him back. “Have you been behaving for Captain Rogers?” 

Tony nodded vehemently. “The best!” 

“Tony's great.” Steve carded his fingers through his brown curls. “He has also only been awake this side of ten minutes, Jarvis. Did you jump on a plane the moment you heard?” He felt bad for cutting the man’s vacation short, but nobody could miss how Tony was now beaming at the two of them. 

“Of course I did. And you’d be surprised at how much havoc Master Tony could wreak in ten minutes. He blew up the oven, once,” Jarvis offered placidly. 

“It was the toaster, not the oven!” Tony protested. 

“Hm. How old are you, Master Tony?” 

“Seven and-a-quarter years old,” he promptly answered. 

Jarvis nodded sagely. “Then you haven’t blown up the oven yet. I believe you did that when you were seven-and-a-half.” 

Tony pouted and complained that he should not be held accountable for something that he might or might not do in three months. “What happened to your hair, Jarvis? Are we really in the future?” 

Jarvis briskly walked into the kitchen, Tony following close behind him with questions. 

“Be glad that Stark men are not prone to male pattern baldness. Your father turned completely grey, but kept a full head of hair.” 

Steve winced at Jarvis’ use of past tense, but Tony seemed unfazed. “How far into the future am I?” 

Jarvis took out a tray of lasagna from the refrigerator. “Twenty-five and a half years, give or take a few months.” 

Tony looked thoughtful. “He would’ve been ninety; The life expectancy of American men is— _was_ seventy years.” He went on, “It was seventy-eight years for women. Is Mom—?”

Steve’s heart hurt at the hopeful expression on Tony’s face. At that moment he wished they could lie—do something, _anything_ —to spare seven-year-old Tony the blow. 

Tony saw the sorrowful look on Jarvis’ face as he hesitated to answer, and his face dimmed. “Oh,” he said to the floor in a very small voice. 

“I’m sorry, Master Tony.” The butler placed a gentle hand on his bowed shoulder. 

“Know that as you grow up, you always have me, and later on Captain Rogers, and all the friends that your future-self met.” 

Tony nodded, but didn’t look up from his feet. 

Steve rubbed a warm hand along his back, and the boy broke into a hitching sob. Turning around blindly, he grabbed onto Steve and cried brokenly into his shirt. 

:: :: :: 

After what felt like an eternity, but was probably less than thirty minutes, Tony calmed down enough to let go of Steve and sit at the kitchen table. Steve discreetly changed out of his now drenched shirt into a new one that Jarvis provided. 

“Creamy sun-dried tomato soup and four cheese panini,” Jarvis set the bowl down on the table with a flourish. “And ricotta cheese and sausage lasagna for Captain Rogers and myself.” 

“Thank you, Jarvis.” Tony wiped off tears from his swollen eyes and smiled at him. It was a small smile, but it didn’t look forced. Steve echoed his sentiment. 

Now that he had stopped crying, the boy seemed to be embarrassed around Steve. He stole a look at Steve as he blew on his spoonful of tomato soup. Methodically tearing the panini into small pieces, he alternated two spoons of soup with one bite of bread. 

“Cap?” 

“Yes, Tony?” Steve said with an encouraging smile. 

“Are we really best friends?” Tony asked shyly. 

“You gave me a _home_ , Tony,” Steve said. “You gave me a purpose and a team—a family. Yes, we’re best friends.” 

Tony looked quietly pleased. “That’s great—that we have a home, and a family.” He shared a look with Jarvis at that last word. 

“Indeed, young sir,” Jarvis said, touched. 

“To home and family,” Steve raised his glass of ice water. 

“Home and family,” Jarvis raised his tea mug. 

Tony giggled, but raised his glass of chocolate milk and clinked it against Steve’s and Jarvis’. 

:: :: :: 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The hugging scene is inspired by [letitrado's super-cute fanart](http://lilian-cho.tumblr.com/post/145245934945/letitrado-biggest-capa-fan-avengers-assemble). Wouldn't it be great if it's just one day of kid!Tony giving Steve hugs? =D  
> The scene inspired by nim_lock's art will be chapter...five, yes. I have to feed Tony first because he hasn't eaten the entire day, except for coffee and an energy bar. Steve at least has had a proper breakfast.
> 
> (I'm not sure about Steve's description of the Avengers. Is that a Steve Rogers thing to say?) ((Does it sound more Phil Coulson instead?))
> 
>  
> 
> Comments and kudos feed the author!


	5. :: :: ::

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't enjoy writing comic!Bruce Banner =| Mark Ruffalo or bust.
> 
> The last bit of this chapter was written in between playing Marvel Tsum Tsum.

Later, after Jarvis had wiped off the chocolate milk mustache on his young charge’s face, Tony asked them, “So, where are the rest of the Avengers? Are they on superhero duty? Do they fly all over the world?”

“They’re on superhero duty, yes; They’re taking care of a situation around the city,” Steve said vaguely. “And we do fly all over the world, even to outer space. You built the Avengers our own quinjet. The quinjet hangar and loading dock is right on the mansion’s top floor.”

Tony vibrated with excitement. “I built a jet plane for the team? Can we go see it now?”

“W-ell…” Steve hedged.

“Please, Steve? I promise I won’t cause any explosions, not even a little one,” Tony said coaxingly, not exactly instilling Steve with confidence.

“And you and Jarvis would be right there with me, so I would be perfectly sa-fe.” His entreaty was interrupted by a wide yawn. 

“Perhaps Master Tony would like to take a nap before embarking on a tour of Avengers Mansion’s upper floors.”

“I’m not—” _Yawn_. “—tired, really.”

“I believe I’m experiencing a slight jet lag from my trip back to New York. Captain Rogers,” Jarvis said, giving Steve a significant look, “has also had an eventful day.”

“Yes!” Steve eagerly seized the excuse, which was not even a lie. “It was an unusually eventful day, even for us Avengers. It would be nice to uh, rest my eyes for ten minutes.”

Tony didn’t look completely convinced, but gave Jarvis another hug before the man retreated into his quarters.

However, he insisted on following Steve to his bedroom. “I’ll lie down with you, then I’ll wake you up when it has been ten minutes!”

Steve hid his smile and said mildly, “You should rest your eyes too.”

Tony nodded acceptance. “Okay, and the quinjet tour straight after.”

Steve fluffed up two pillows near his headboard and turned down the covers before reclining on the generously-sized bed. 

Tony bounced on the bed, once, and plopped himself down right next to Steve. Stretching an arm over Steve’s chest, he informed Steve seriously, “I have to make sure you don’t sneak away in case I fall asleep. Not that I would.”

“Got it, just in case.” Steve rearranged Tony’s limbs and pulled the blanket over them both.

“Prepare for all contingencies,” Tony said, eyelids drooping. “That’s what mom likes to say.”

Looking at the shadowed ceiling, Steve thought of his best friend’s childhood, of neglectful fathers and idolized mothers. “She sounds like a very wise woman.”

[Tony made a snuffling sound in reply.](http://lilian-cho.tumblr.com/post/149858607795/capim-tinybang-title-long-day-artist-nim-lock) He had burrowed under the covers and was now half on top of Steve, head resting near his heart. Steve gently pulled the boy until he was lying more comfortably on top of his chest. He closed his eyes and started patting the small back rhythmically, letting the warm weight lull him to sleep.

:: :: ::

Steve blinked awake to the sound of soft knocking. A glance at the window showed that it was fully dark outside. 

“Come in,” he said, not raising his voice. Both his hands still lay on top of Tony’s back.

The door swung open slowly to reveal Bruce, carrying what looked like a scanner. 

“Is he still asleep?” Bruce asked in a whisper.

Steve nodded.

“I’m just going to—” He gestured awkwardly at Tony with the gadget. “Mind if I—?” Steve pulled the covers down to his legs. “That’s great, thanks.”

He swept the scanner over Tony’s head and torso. The display lit up green, and he did a second sweep near Tony’s chest, frowning. “His chest area is emitting the same reading that Tony has on file for the Time Gem. The question is, is the gem physically inside his chest, considering that all the younger Tonys do not possess an arc reactor?”

He clicked the side of the scanner, turning it off. “When he wakes up, you should bring him down for an x-ray.” 

Steve looked up sharply at the scientist. “And what if the gem _is_ in his chest? Are you suggesting we cut open a seven-year-old kid?”

Bruce held both hands up. “We can wait for the next temporal shift, and see if he shifted into a teenager or an adult; but you and I both know there’s no guarantee that that’s what would happen.” 

Unable to refute this, Steve felt blood drain from his face. He rubbed circles up and down Tony’s back, reassuring himself that his friend was warm and whole in his arms.

“Jan will drop by to give you a status report later.” With one last glance at Steve, Bruce retreated from the room.

:: :: ::

Tony slept on, mouth half-open, through the brief status report (“We used Pym particles,” Jan said, “and now we have a box of kitten-sized dinosaurs. Nat looked like she’d like to adopt one. Clint is demanding we keep a miniaturized wooly mammoth in the mansion backyard.”), but startled awake at the camera shutter sound Jan’s phone made.

He rubbed his face firmly into Steve’s shirt and blinked his eyes open. “Whuh—Steve?”

Jan mouthed _sorry_ at Steve. He noticed, however, that she didn’t put away her phone.

“Hey, champ,” Steve said with forced cheer. “Had a good nap?”

Thankfully, Tony was still too out of it to notice Steve’s less-than-happy demeanor. “Had a dream that I traveled through time, and you were a cuddly w-wolf.” He yawned and sat up on Steve’s thighs. “Did I travel through time?”

“Yes,” Steve said, at the same time that Jan squealed, “Oh god even his yawning is cute!”.

Tony squinted at her. “…Mrs. van Dyne? Did you color your hair?”

“Do I really look that much like my mom?” Jan smiled widely at him. 

He twisted around to get a better view of her, and his eyes promptly widened. “Jan? You’re a grown-up!”

“Debatable, if you ask my dad.” 

“When I saw you last week, you said you were going to be a bumblebee when you grew up,” Tony said in the tones of a grave announcement. Steve supposed seeing the difference in his childhood friend was more startling than seeing the difference in Jarvis.

“And hey, I grew up to be the Wasp! At least it’s the same yellow and black color scheme.” Jan laughed. “But nowadays I’m all about Giant-Girl. It’s more useful for the sort of situations the Avengers handle.” 

Steve couldn’t argue that Giant-Girl was right up there with Hulk as top dinosaur wranglers today.

Tony clambered over Steve’s legs and settled next to him with a bounce. “So, you used to shrink and now you grow big? How big do you grow? Do you keep your wings when you grow big?”

“Yes and yes. I grew as tall as a skyscraper today,” Jan said. “And unfortunately no, I can’t fly as Giant-Girl.”

“If you’re as tall as a skyscraper, the wingspan that would get you airborne would be ridiculously gargantuan,” Tony said, with an expression that Steve knew meant he was running calculations in his head. It looked downright adorable on the seven-year-old. Jan apparently thought so too, as she surreptitiously took another picture.

“You sacrificed flight for size and strength. Speaking of flight…”

 _Oh no._

“It’s time for our quinjet tour!” He looked at Steve excitedly. 

“Tony, Doctor Banner needs you down at the lab immediately, so I’m afraid—” Steve was assaulted by lethal puppy dog eyes from both Tony _and_ Jan. “—we can only have a quick ten-minute tour instead of a longer tour of the top floors.” Bruce was willing to wait out Tony’s long nap; another ten minutes wouldn't make a difference.

“Yay!” Tony jumped onto the carpeted floor, his loose pants threatening to fall around his knees. “What are we waiting for?” 

“Here, Tony,” Jan handed him a folded stack of clothes. “Jarvis thought you might want a fresh change of clothes after a nap.”

“Thanks, Jan.” He flashed her a smile before disappearing into Steve’s bathroom.

Tony emerged from the bathroom in a grey T-shirt and black slacks his size. Steve would think that Jarvis had held on to Tony’s childhood clothes, except that the T-shirt was obviously Iron Man merchandise. There was a stylized arc reactor located high in the middle, and glow-in-the-dark lines ran along Tony’s shoulders and torso. 

Steve shook his head in amazement. “Where do you even find these things, Jan?” And when did she have the time to shop specifically for a seven-year-old Tony?

“The Internet is a wonderful place,” Jan said cheerfully. “Tony, stand next to Cap so I can take a picture of the two of you.”

:: :: ::

They were met at the top floor by an impeccably dressed Jarvis. Tony looked suitably impressed by the quinjet his adult-self built, and asked a hundred technical questions which Steve tried his best to answer. ("It's space capable _and_ have a submarine mode? How does it handle the terrain switch so quickly?") Jan chimed in with anecdotes about Avengers missions. Tony didn’t seem disappointed that eight times out of ten, Steve didn’t have the technical knowledge to answer his question.

“The original design was by Wakanda Design Group, but that was—oh, forty iterations ago,” Jan said. “After all the modifications you’ve made, I’d say the current quinjet is 85% Tony Stark.”

Steve would like to say that Jan was exaggerating, but they do have the bad habit of wrecking the quinjet every other mission.

At the end of the tour, Jan excused herself to regroup with Ororo, who had returned to the mansion along with Logan.

Tony gazed up at the quinjet and sighed longingly. “I don’t suppose we can take her for a quick spin?”

Steve shook his head. “Sorry, Tony, but we really should go see Doctor Banner now.” 

“Okay.” With one last look to the 'A' emblazoned on the quinjet tail, Tony turned and followed Steve and Jarvis to the elevator.

As the elevator deposited them in front of the medical lab, Steve lamented the modern aesthetics of the mansion’s lower floors. The glass walls gave them an unimpeded view of the adjoining operating theater, which had state-of-the-art medical equipment like an electrocautery machine and a heart-lung machine. Just last week, Tony was all set on getting the Avengers their own regeneration cradle.

Steve had a flash of Tony, small and slight, lying unconscious on the sterile surgical table, and came to a dead stop.

“Steve?” A small hand tugged at his.

He blinked the unsettling vision away and looked down at Tony, standing next to him.

“Are you okay?” Earnest blue eyes peered at his face.

“I’m fine, Tony.” Steve found it in himself to smile. _I won’t let that happen to you._

Tony nodded and smiled back. “Come on,” he said, slipping his hand into Steve’s, “I’ve had x-rays before; it’s going to be fine.”

:: :: ::

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lookit, the child!Tony-napping-on-Steve finally happened!  
> Go look at [**nim_lock's adorable fanart**](http://lilian-cho.tumblr.com/post/149858607795/capim-tinybang-title-long-day-artist-nim-lock) again =D
> 
> Anyone up to beta-ing this fic? Pretty please with a cherry on top? The completed fic shouldn't be longer than 9K words.  
> Please comment here, PM me at LJ/DW, or drop me a line at tumblr. I'm lilian_cho everywhere.

**Author's Note:**

>  ~~Currently unbeta-ed, so please do point out SpaG errors. Thank you!~~   
>  ETA 10/24/16: I have a beta for this fic but I'm apparently now* a horrible rewriter/procrastinator and has only edited chapter one D= Feel free to poke me in the comments or tumblr etc. to make me edit faster.
> 
>  
> 
> * I used to love editing/rewriting! I used to rewrite stories TWICE no problem! But now I'm 11 years older and a whole lot lazier... *dissolves into a puddle of non-motivation*


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